Voigt turns back time to charge criterium

JENS VOIGT didn't win the season-opening People's Choice Classic in Adelaide on Sunday night. Even he admits he never stood a chance.

But that didn't stop the 41-year-old German, who is the oldest rider in the peloton, from testing his ''self-belief beyond reason'' and giving it a go.

The night's laurels in the 51-kilometre warm-up event to the Tour Down Under that starts on Tuesday and finishes on Sunday went once again to another German, Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol), whose teammates set him up beautifully to take first place from Australia's Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE).

In third place was Greipel's New Zealand teammate Greg Henderson, followed by Dutchman Boy Van Poppel (Vacansoleil). However, as masterful as Lotto-Belisol's collective effort was to project Greipel across the line in first place, Voigt (RadioShack) was the showman.

Voigt and Australian Zac Dempster (Uni SA-Australia), 25, attacked from the start and were only caught with nine of the 30 1.7km laps to go. Under cloudless skies and warm weather, the pair worked well, brought together as master and apprentice by chance.

Voigt knew their move was most likely to be in vain but continued to defy logic and stay away in the slim hope they could lap the field.

Afterwards, Voigt said he put his hand up for the bold attempt with his teammates: ''It crossed my mind this morning, I am the oldest man here, I might as well do something stupid and get it going - first race of the year, first attack. I asked the boys at the team meeting. There were just smiles and they said, 'Feel free … go ahead.' Then I was out there [with] a kid who was [close to] half my age, the Uni SA rider. I didn't know anything about him.

''We kept riding pretty well together [so] there was not much need for communication. We were just sharing the work.''

Voigt said he didn't try to win the four intermediate sprints.

''I am just an old diesel engine, you know. Probably he would have been faster than me, but he is a local kid, so why should I steal his thunder?''